I live in Poland, which (for the geographically indifferent) is right next to Germany. Actually, the city where I live, Wrocław, was once part of Germany, and it’s now just a couple hours to the German border from here. From living in this city for 5 years, I can tell you one thing with great emphasis: this is one super-grey area of the world. Actually, the weather at the moment reminds me of winter weather in Florida (my home state). I was looking at a lot of solar irradiation maps and stats just yesterday, and I happened to notice that Florida gets about twice as much average sunshine per day as Wrocław — I’m sure it’s the same across Germany. So, really, I am stunned when I think about how much solar power the country is producing relative to other countries (especially relative to the humungous and sunny USA).

It was just reported the other day that Germany has broken its monthly solar power generation record yet again. In July, the super-grey country rose above 5.1 TWh of electricity from solar panel systems. That’s according to the latest data from the EEX Transparency Platform.

That actually beats the 5 TWh of electricity from wind turbines that the country logged in January (it’s also a wind power leader, in case you weren’t aware).

More emphatically, that crushes the 0.764 TWh of electricity solar PV and solar thermal systems produced in the US in May 2013 (the latest month for which we have data) as well as the 0.522 TWh produced in the US in July 2012.

The Obama Administration is building the nation’s biggest wind farm to generate electricity to help … assemble the nation’s nuclear arsenal.

It’s boasting of the great environmental stewardship the project represents — breezes for bombs? — and has contracted with Siemens USA, the American subsidiary of a German company, for the wind turbines at the heart of the operation.

The government broke ground on Tuesday for the Pantex Renewable Energy Project. When finished next summer, it will include five 2.3-MW wind turbines on 1,500 acres (607 hectares) of government-owned property east of the Pantex plant in the Texas panhandle. “Pantex is charged with securing America by providing the nation’s nuclear deterrent,” the fissile factory says, “and is now the future home of the federal government’s largest wind farm.”

The wind farm “will be funded by the energy savings guaranteed by Siemens,” Pantex says — an estimated $50 million over 18 years.

Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution has connected the UK’s first large-scale battery to the local electricity distribution network on Orkney.

The trial project will determine what kind of role the devices could play in the release of capacity on the network and explore how the intermittency issues affecting renewable generation could be resolved.

The 2MW lithium ion battery has been developed by Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and will be operated by SSE Generation.

The unit, which is installed at Kirkwall Power Station, will absorb and store excess renewable energy that would otherwise be constrained from the network.

The global offshore wind energy market will enjoy rapid growth over the next seven years, led by the deployment of a new fleet of offshore wind farms in British waters.
That is the conclusion of a new report from analyst firm GlobalData, which predicts global offshore wind capacity will grow from 5.5GW in 2012 to 51.2GW by the end of the decade, largely as a result of the UK's plans for new offshore wind farms.

IKEA bolts together renewables portfolio with Irish wind farm acquisition
As a result, the sector is expected to enjoy a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.3 per cent between 2012 and 2013.

The UK is expected to retain its leadership position in the offshore wind market, but GlobalData's projections imply other countries will start to expand their offshore wind capacity.

The UK's offshore wind industry is aiming to deliver around 18GW of capacity by 2020 through the development of the next wave of so-called Round 3 projects. But Germany, France, South Korea, China and the US are among those pursuing plans for new offshore wind farms.

The electric utility industry faces the risk of declining revenues as more customers install solar panels on their homes and businesses. Solar power currently supplies 2% of the country’s electricity needs, and is projected to grow to 16% by 2020. In 2013, solar panel prices for commercial installations fell 15.6%, from $4.64/watt to $3.92/watt. To protect their revenues, some utilities are raising electricity costs for solar panel owners – but with mixed results. Credit ratings agencies are also expressing concern. Is there real cause for alarm or are these companies crying wolf? Judging by one customer segment – big-box retailers – the threat is real.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) ranks U.S. companies based on their solar energy capacity, and the top five companies on the list are big-box retailers:

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Walmart tops SEIA’s list with 65,000 kW of solar power, which is enough to supply the annual energy needs of over 10,000 homes. They recently installed ten new solar rooftop systems in Maryland, totaling more than 13,000 panels. Walmart is the largest retailer in the U.S. and in the world by revenue, with 4,423 U.S. stores and over 10,000 stores worldwide. Walmart and EDF have been working together since 2004 to reduce the Walmart’s environmental footprint. With more than 200 solar installations across the country, Walmart plans to have 1,000 solar installations by 2020. Walmart’s goal is to eventually supply 100% of its energy needs with renewable energy.

Costco ranks second on the list with 38,900 kW of solar power. Costco is the fifth largest U.S. retailer and seventh largest in the world, with 425 stores in the U.S. Costco has installed solar panels in approximately 60 stores, with an average size of 500 kW per store. Solar power supplies about 22% of each store’s energy needs.

In third place on SEIA’s list is Kohl’s, with 36,474 kW of solar power. Kohl’s is the 20th largest retailer in the U.S. and the 44th largest retailer in the world, with 1,127 U.S. stores. Kohl’s has solar panels installed at 139 of its stores, and will have solar panels at 200 stores by 2015.

IKEA is fourth with 21,495 kW of solar power. IKEA only has 38 U.S. stores, but its buildings can accommodate larger solar installations. By 2020, the company plans to meet 100% of its energy needs with renewable energy.

Macy’s ranks fifth on SEIA’s list with 16,163 kW of solar power. Macy’s is the 16th largest retailer in the U.S. and the 36th largest retailer in the world, with 840 stores. The company is increasing its solar installations by 25-35%.

After nearly three years, the White House began installing solar panels on the First Family’s residence this week, a White House official confirmed Thursday.

The Obama administration had pledged in October 2010 to put solar panels on the White House as a sign of the president’s commitment to renewable energy.

The White House official, who asked not to be identified because the installation is in process, wrote in an e-mail the project is “a part of an energy retrofit that will improve the overall energy efficiency of the building.”

At the time of the 2010 announcement, then-Energy Secretary Steven Chu and White House Council on Environmental Quality chair Nancy Sutley said the administration would conduct a competitive bidding process to buy between 20 and 50 solar panels. The officials did not identify the supplier or cost of the project, but wrote the White House “has begun installing American-made solar panels” and the initiative, “which will help demonstrate that historic buildings can incorporate solar energy and energy efficiency upgrades, is estimated to pay for itself in energy savings over the next eight years.”

China’s Longyuan Power has announced the installation of the world’s highest wind farm, located in Tibet.

The company has installed five turbines on a wind farm about 4,900 meters above sea level and plans to install a further 28 wind turbines located in Naqu Prefecture in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.

Once fully complete, the farm will generate 15MW of energy, enough to power 13,500 homes.

Tibet, because of its harsh natural environment, and Macau are the last two Chinese regions without wind farms. To date, Tibet’s annual wind energy reserves amount to 93 billion/kWh, the seventh largest in China.

The world’s second largest offshore wind farm has been opened by energy and business minister Michael Fallon off the coast of Suffolk.

Despite already holding the title of second largest offshore wind farm, with its 140 turbines, the development is set to double in size in 2017, when the Galloper wind farm extension is completed.

It is hoped that offshore wind will provide enough clean energy to power 11 million homes in the UK by the end of the decade. This would see the creation of 30,000 jobs, and should add £7 billion to the economy.

The equipment that’s powering America’s wind energy boom is increasingly being made right at home.

In 2007, just 25 percent of turbine components used in new wind farms in the U.S. were produced domestically. By last year, that figure had risen to 72 percent, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy. And exports of such equipment rose to $388 million last year, up from $16 million in 2007.

This happened even as the U.S. was installing a whole lot of turbines. More than 13.1 gigawatts of new wind power capacity was added to the U.S. grid in 2012, representing $25 billion of investment. That made wind the nation’s fastest-growing electricity source last year, faster even than natural gas–fueled power.

Unfortunately, there were job losses in the sector last year, with the number of wind industry manufacturing jobs falling to 25,500 from 30,000 the year before. That’s because there was a lull and some factory closures after a mad scramble to fulfill orders placed before a federal tax credit expired. (It was renewed for this year, but its future is still up in the air.)

Iowa will add 1.05 gigawatts of new wind energy capacity by 2015, thanks to the Iowa Utilities Board’s approval of a $1.9 billion proposal from MidAmerican Energy.

Regulatory approval of the Wind VII project paves the way for construction to start as soon as September 2013. The wind farm sites have already secured development and grid interconnection rights, and will bring hundreds of green jobs and millions in revenue to landowners and the government.

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In fact, the economic benefits of Wind VII may actually outweigh the environmental aspects. The project will create 460 construction jobs and an estimated payroll of $30 million over two years. Once built, the turbines will support 48 permanent green jobs and an estimated $2.4 million payroll.

With time, Wind VII will cut electricity bills for MidAmerican ratepayers. The utility is Iowa’s largest, with roughly 734,000 electric service customers, and the expansion will be built at no net cost to customers. After the first 350 megawatts of new generation capacity are installed, a $3.3 million rate reduction will take effect. By 2017, the rate reduction will increase to $10 million per year.